SP-179

Combustion Terms
Absolute Pressure: Gauge pressure plus barometric pressure in consistent units.

Absolute Also called degrees Rankine (°R). Add 460 to degrees Fahrenheit to
Temperature: get absolute temperature, or °R.

Air-Fuel Ratio: Ratio of fuel supply to air supply when both are expressed at the
same conditions and dimensions.

Aldehyde: (CH3CHO) An organic compound sometimes found in small quantities in flue

products, highly toxic.

Aspirator Mixer: A device for mixing air and fuel gas in which the air is the motive gas
and the fuel is the entrained gas.

Available Heat: The gross heat released in the combustion process minus the heat in
the dry flue gases plus the water loss. It is the useful heat.

British Thermal Unit: The quantity of heat required to raise one pound of water one degree
(Btu) Fahrenheit.

Bunsen Type Burner: A burner having a straight tube with a gas orifice at one end, primary
air being entrained by the jet of gas and the partial premix of fuel and
air being delivered to the discharge end of the tube. The basic design
for a so-called “atmospheric burner”.

Burner: A device which positions, shapes, and retains the flame.

Carbon Dioxide The percentage of carbon dioxide in the dry flue gases when a stoich-
Ultimate %: iometric mixture of fuel and air is burned to completion.

Coefficient of A dimensionless number which expresses the relative efficiency of

Discharge: flow through an orifice, and varies between 0 to 1. In gas combustion
devices it generally is within the range of 0.5 and 0.95.

Combustion Air: Air supplied to a burner for the combustion reaction. It includes all
the required air regardless if premixed with the fuel before ignition
or enters through the flame envelope.

Combustion The result of the reaction between fuel and air (oxygen) usually
Products: consisting of CO2, H2O and N2 in industrial gas practice.

Cross-Connected: System in which one flow is used to control a second flow by means of
an impulse or sensing pipe between the two.

Eclipse Combustion
ISO 9001 Registered
Dissociation: A reverse chemical reaction which involves the products of combus-
tion at elevated temperatures. It is a factor in limiting the maximum
flame temperature for any set of conditions.

Draft: The pressure differential which results due to difference in densities

between hot flue gases in a stack or chimney and the ambient air. It
accounts for the natural venting of combustion gases.

Dry Flue Gas: The products of combustion less the water vapor formed in the
burning process.

Efficiency: In combustion engineering the percentage of the gross heat input

which is useful in a given process.

Excess Air: That portion of the air which is mixed with the fuel and does not
react. It tends to lower the temperature of the combustion products.

Exothermic Reaction: One which liberates heat and is descriptive of the combustion of
fuels.

Flame Lifting: Caused when the flame becomes detached from the burner or flame
holder. Sometimes called “blow-off” and generally defines an upper
combustion system limit.

Flame Front: The base of the flame; generally that portion of the flame adjacent to
the flame holder.

Flash-Back: A condition which occurs when the burning rate exceeds the exit
velocity of the fuel-air mixture. Establishes a lower combustion sys-
tem limit.

Flue Gas Loss: The sensible heat carried away by the combustion products.

Gross Heating Value: The total heat resulting from combustion of a unit of fuel when both
reactants and combustion products when initialand final state at 60°F.

Ignition The minimum temperature at which a critical mass of fuel-air mix-

Temperature: ture must be in order for a self-sustaining combustion reaction to
take place.

Impact Tube: A pressure sensing device which points upstream in a flow conduit and
measures total pressure; i.e., static pressure plus velocity pressure.

Inches Mercury: Inches of pressure measured with a column of mercury. One inch of
(" Hg) mercury is equal to 13.6" w.c.

Inches Water Column: The vertical displacement of a column of water due to pressure acting
(" H2O) against the water head. 27.7" w.c. is equal to one (1) psi.

Inflammability The minimum and maximum percentage of fuel in air which will
Limits: burn at specified temperature and pressure conditions. Also called
upper (U.E.L.) and lower (L.E.L.) explosive limits.

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Inspirator Mixer: A device for mixing fuel and air in which the fuel is the motive gas
and the air is the entrained gas. Delivery pressure is usually 2" w.c.
or less. Commonly used on so-called “atmospheric” burner systems in
which instance mixture pressure is 0.02 to 0.10" w.c.

Lean Mixture: A fuel-air mixture which contains more air than is necessary to
completely burn the fuel portion.

L.P.G.: Liquid Petroleum Gas. Generally refers to commercial propane and

butane.

Lower Heating Value: The heat released by a unit of fuel from and at 60°F less the latent
heat of the water vapor formed in the combustion process. (Also
called Net Heating Valve.)

Low Pressure: An arbitrary term used in combustion engineering referring to air or

fuel at 2 psi or less.

Modulating Control: A system which provides an infinite number of control positions.

Sometimes referred to as “throttling control”.

Net Heating Valve: See “Lowering Heating Valve”.

Orifice: Any restriction in a flow conduit, usually circular in cross section, but
sometimes takes other shapes.

Orsat Analyzer: A primary gas absorption type instrument used to measure the
relative volumes of CO2, O2 and CO gases in flue products.

Oxidizing Combustion gases which contain an excess of air and cause oxidation
Atmosphere: of process materials with which they come in contact.

Percent Excess Air: That air expressed as a percentage which is available but not re-
quired for the complete combustion of the fuel.

Pitot Tube: A device used to measure the flow velocity in a conduit. It is a

combination impact and static pressure measuring device which
gives a read-out which represents the difference between the two
pressures, commonly called “velocity pressure”.

Primary Air: That portion of the required air which is premixed with the fuel
before entering the burner nozzle, head or flame retention means.

Proportioning: Refers to the maintenance of a desired fuel-air ratio over a range of

input rates.

Reducing Products of combustion which result due to a deficiency of air in the

Atmosphere: air-fuel mixture. Sometimes done intentionally to prevent oxidation
of process materials.

Rich Mixture: A fuel-air mixture which contains an excess of fuel with respect to the
air needed for complete combustion.

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Secondary Air: Air used in the combustion process which does not pass through the
primary burner nozzle or flame retention means.

Specific Gravity: In dealing with fuel gases the relative weight of any gas compared to
the weight of an equal volume of dry air, both being at the same
pressure and temperature conditions. The specific gravity of air is
arbitrarily set at 1.0.

Specific Heat: The amount of heat (Btu) to raise one unit weight of substance
(pound) one degree (°F).

Standard Cubic Foot: Basis on which fuel gas is sold by utilities based on volume at
standard gas conditions.

Standard
Conditions: Volume of any gas measured at 60°F and 29.92" Hg.

Static Pressure: The force exerted by a gas against the walls of its container or the
walls of a conduit through which it may be flowing.

Stoichiometric A mixture of fuel and air whose proportions are determined by an

Mixture: exactly balanced chemical equation of the reaction. Example:

CH4 + 2O2 —> CO2 + 2H2O

Total Pressure: The sum of the static pressure and the velocity pressure. If total
pressure equals static pressure there is a no-flow condition.

Turndown: Ratio of maximum to minimum firing rates.

Velocity Pressure: The difference between the total pressure and the static pressure.
Often measured by use of a pilot tube arrangement.

Venturi: A flow tube having a smooth converging section followed by a smooth

diverging section. Used in gas engineering to convert high velocity
pressure to static pressure with minimum total pressure loss.

Volume, Combustion: The space required to complete the combustion reaction. Can also
refer to the ratio of heat input to combustion chamber volume.

Wall Loss: The heat lost through the walls (including roof and floor or hearth) of
the enclosure in which the heating takes place.

Zero Gas: Generally refers to fuel gas pressure at the outlet of a zero gas
regulator or governor. The pressure is atmospheric.

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